Certified Passive House comes to the Inner West of Melbourne
What started out in 2019 as an alterations and additions project eventuated into an entirely new dwelling that will be a certified Passive House (or Passivhaus) and one of the most healthy, comfortable and resilient homes in Melbourne’s Inner West to date.
During the Black Summer bushfires, one morning over Christmas 2019 you may remember the smoke rolling into Melbourne. We happened to have air quality monitors in the existing house to gain a better understanding of the temperature and humidity levels throughout the home. By chance, these monitors also have a Particulate Matter reader. This morning, the PM levels went through the roof instantly!! We quickly learnt that thermal performance upgrades alone would not address the air quality issues that our clients required due to respiratory sensitivity. As most people that have renovated can appreciate, while the outcome will be far better than previous years, there is still some level of compromise. Compounded by the rising cost of construction and the actual cost to build this renovation, our client posed the question… “What would a new build look like?”. The next thing we knew we were running a new design through PHPP and liaising with a Passivhaus Certifier (Detailed Green) for the first time!
It’s testing times to be hitting a budget but we worked hard with our certified Passive House builder, Carland Constructions, and our ace open minded clients to make this happen.
And the cherry on the top; our clients managed to find a new home for their existing home and it was reallocated to Ballarat where it is currently enjoying regional life!
Passive House, Spotswood, Inner West
Performance: Certified Passive House Classic
Airtightness: 0.38
Heating demand: 13.9kWh/(m²a)
Cooling demand: 7.0kWh/(m²a)
Frequency of overheating: less than 11% (when not using AC for cooling).
Frequency of excessive humidity: 0%
The total solar energy required for the house is 8,300 kWh per year, which calculates to roughly 692 kWh per month. This is a calculated average based on assumed usage. The energy demand will be different in reality based on outside factors (temperature, daylight etc.) and indoor factors (electricity use of services, appliances, electronics etc.).
With a 12,175 kWh solar PV system the house will generate sufficient energy throughout the year to supply the required electricity demand, without the need for the grid or batteries (Passive House doesn’t account for battery storage yet). This translates to 25x 350W PV panels. The calculation doesn’t take into account Electrical Vehicle charging.
You can read the full story about our Forrest St Passivhaus in Issue 66 of Sanctuary Magazine. Link here.